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Posts Tagged ‘culture’

Collections include historical works detailing American and European history

Boston Public Library unveiled its newest Collections of Distinction, adding six to the initial 18 collections that represent the most outstanding, expansive, and renowned of its holdings of more than 23 million items. The collections include Massachusetts Newspapers, Boston Artists, Boston Pictorial Archive, the Book of Common Prayer, works by Daniel Defoe, as well as the Mellen Chamberlain Collection of Autographs. Within the collections is an array of books, prints, letters, drawings, and other original works dating back as early as the 14th century.

“It is our privilege to share these distinguished collections; from manuscripts to modern art, they bring stories and culture of the past and present to life for the world to view,” said Amy E. Ryan, President of the Boston Public Library. “We invite the community in to discover the rich history these collections hold.”

Among the historical items from Massachusetts are works of Boston artists from the 1940s to the present, a collection of photographs and lithographs of Boston scenery from the 18th through 20th centuries, and an archive of Massachusetts newspapers dating back to 1706. Additionally, the Mellen Chamberlain Collection of Autographs contains 20,000 letters, engravings, and documents highlighting American and European history, including documentation of the Salem Witch Trials, the American Revolution, and correspondence from famed authors Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Singleton Copley. (more…)

The exhibition Literary Landscapes: Maps from Fiction opens at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library on Monday, February 2, and runs through October 25. The exhibition, curated by Stephanie Cyr and Lauren Chen, examines the many types of maps that accompany works of fiction and features items from the 16th century to the present day.

“Literary Landscapes is for readers and map lovers of all ages and stages,” said Stephanie Cyr. “The collection of maps and books in the exhibition offers a creative and fun look into the relationship between literature and placemaking.”

In this exhibition of 40 items, visitors will discover maps from a variety of fictional genres, learn how authors create imaginary worlds, and appreciate why descriptive geography is essential to a story. People and creatures, even those who exist only in tales, are related to place, and maps of their imaginary worlds allow readers to be transported into the geography of fantasy. Maps of imaginary places have accompanied literature for centuries, as visualizing the fanciful worlds described in works of fiction sets the stage for events taking place in a story and often provides insight into the characters themselves. (more…)

Date Set for Opening of Renovated Second Floor at BPL’s Central Library

BOSTON – January 16, 2015 – The date has been set for the opening of the renovated second floor of the Johnson building at Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square. On Saturday, February 21, the residents of Boston and beyond will get their first look at the new second floor, which includes a new children’s library, teen area, nonfiction collection, reference services, and a community reading area.

“The opening of the Central Library’s renovated second floor is an exciting preview of what will be a world-class renovation of one of Boston’s cultural gems,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “Libraries are places of opportunity and people of all ages will enjoy the books and programs as well as the family-friendly, state-of-the-art space in Copley Square.”

The Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street, opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday, February 21. Both the Boylston Street entrance and the Dartmouth Street entrance will be open. The celebratory ribbon cutting will take place at 12 p.m. The Mayor is scheduled to attend. (more…)

Begin with the Massachusett, setting nets in the harbor
Of Boston, before it was Boston harbor—Quonehassit,Place of clear water, and arrive at my door. I, immigrant

Like so many settlers nestled in your arms, write this poem
To you Boston. If I write Trimount it is for your hills,
Some still standing, others razed, the land changed, as lands are,

As time passes, and yet history is yours, Boston, the good and bad of it,
The inarticulated and the often-stated: A Puritan’s beacon, Wheatley’s
Pen, Winthrop’s city upon a hill, Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured

Citizens of the world, the vision and grandeur that are Gardner’s,
The words lost to the grey and blue Atlantic. If I place an emerald
Necklace at your feet, it is to match the medallions of your ever-turning

Wheels: bicycles and school-buses, the railroads and helms of trade
And fate, of fire and grit, of determination’s grip, of cod and beans,
And the great house of science, and the great house of knowledge,

And the great house of art. International since the day you were born,
If cities are born. And if you are grown, then out of everything you
Have grown: a revolution’s spark, the arc of a wide bridge,

Cable-stayed, lit electric, wharves and new waves,
And the complicated notions of freedom and forward,
And the ease of summer days and sturdy neighbors:

Chris, young terror of Sumner Street; Alana eating a pear,
Already in third grade; John, but call him Mac; Santiago
Who yells louder than God; and Wendy who yells louder;

And Wayne, uncle to all, from his big yellow house greeting
Each newcomer to the neighborhood.

Danielle Legros Georges

(this poem is indebted to Robert J. Allison’sA Short History of Boston)

Frederick MacMonnies’ (1863-1937) spirited piece Bacchante and Infant Faun, which is located in the courtyard of Boston Public Library’s Copley Square location, was recently restored. The piece was originally given to the library by architect Charles Follen McKim, but removed in 1897 amid protest by the local community, who thought the dancing woman celebrated drinking — and, even worse — subjected her young child to debauchery. The original piece was removed and given to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. More than 90 years later, Bacchante returned to her intended home in the fountain, cast from a copy of the popular original in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.

Conservators first constructed scaffolding around the piece and used granulated walnut shells to “blast” green corrosion off the sculpture. Next, they treated the sculpture’s surface to recreate the original patina. A lacquer was applied to recoat the sculpture and re-wax its surface, which adds a final protective coating. Restoration work recently took place on Bela Pratt’s Art and Science sculptures outside the Central Library’s Dartmouth Street entrance. Further details on library artwork not to miss can be found on the walking tour section of the BPL website. Visit www.bpl.org/tours for information on the library’s daily art and architecture tours.